The Final Surrender
by PsychicDreams
Summary: [Thorki] Loki's reaction of protecting Thor has unexpected and life-changing consequences.


(I received a request for a thorki fic for arashi wolf princess from vampygurl402, so here it is. Hope it suffices.)

-0-

Thor was thrown hard on the ground and coughed up some blood when the harsh landing only aggravated the wound in his stomach. He grunted in pain as he tried to lever himself up, but his body refused to listen. Stark was almost motionless nearby, helmet ripped off at some point, but he knew he was alive because he was talking to his suit. It looked less like this usual suit with the pristine red and golds and now more dented and…well, scrap. Steve was slowly levering himself to his feet, but by the way he held his left arm, it had been broken. Even one such as himself, someone that could stand the physical beating the best of the Midgardians, could still be hurt. Natasha was propping up Clint on the other side of him as the man looked through the rubble to find even one spare arrow after using them all.

He glared the creature that seemed so like the Hulk and yet nothing like him. They had torn apart the street and most of the surrounding blocks trying to stop it and a battle between two creatures like the Hulk and this one was doing incalculable damage. The road they were on was littered with so much debris that there was no way to navigate it except on foot. He wasn't sure even during Loki's invasion that this much damage had been caused.

Mjolnir felt heavier than usual as he called the hammer to him, but his legs were shaky and unwieldy. He managed to get himself propped up on one elbow and wondered grimly, as he watched the Hulk smash into the creature as if neither of them felt any pain, whether or not there would be a city left in an hour.

"Thor, can you move?"

Thor looked over at Captain America who was leaning against an overturned bus and attempting to set his broken arm himself. "Yes," he said as he felt his body sluggishly responding, injuries starting to knit themselves together again.

His usual optimism was fading at any good outcome to this fight. He eased himself up, using Mjolnir to push himself to one knee. Somehow in the space of that second he did so, something had changed. The air seemed to still a little and he looked in front of him.

A numb sort of shock hit him as familiar black boots landed in his vision. His eyes traveled up and up, seeing black, green, and gold, until he met Loki's gaze. Loki had managed to escape his cell in Asgard some months back and they'd been fighting him off and on since then, but Thor hadn't seen him for a few months. For no reason that he could name, Loki seemed to refuse to leave Midgard and yet no matter how hard the Avengers had looked, they hadn't been able to find him. Thor had spent all his free time searching for him, but he hadn't expected to find anything. Loki was a master at stealth and if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

Thor braced himself, gritting his teeth. This wasn't what they needed right now. They couldn't take on Loki and this creature at the same time, not in this shape, and perhaps it was a fault of his, but Thor couldn't bring himself to allow anyone else to be his brother's opponent. He cared too much, and maybe he was just that much of a fool to hope he could redeem Loki.

Despite expecting it, there were no scathing remarks from his brother about his condition or the fight. Instead, green eyes catalogued every one of his wounds, his tired state, and the way he seemed to have trouble standing. There was a snort, of derision perhaps, before he turned and stalked forward calmly toward the two fighting creatures. Thor surged to his feet, but the sudden motion caused him to grow dizzy and stumble back down to his knees.

"Loki!"

The sound of the voice seemed to come from Steve, but it felt like he had rushing water in his ears. It subsided after a minute, and he couldn't bring himself to pull his eyes from the strong, straight back of his brother. A single thought pervaded his mind and just refused to leave: What was he doing there?

The Hulk was thrown back into a wall, bringing with it falling glass, concrete, and steel and seeming to stun even him for a minute. In that moment, once the creature was alone, Loki threw out his hand in an elegant yet slightly dramatic fashion that had Thor wanting to roll his eyes just like when they'd been younger. Ice flew from his fingertips and slammed into the side of their foe's left arm. It caught the creature's attention and it turned from its singleminded pursuit of the Hulk. Even as it spun, rushing forward to its new opponent, the ice continued to spread.

He felt fear grip his lungs, fear for his brother no matter what he'd done, and he shouted instinctively, "Loki, run!"

Loki did the opposite, instead planting his feet. As the ice spread quickly, beginning to encase the legs and chest of the big monster, Thor finally managed to take in what he was seeing: Loki had deliberately placed himself right in front of the god of thunder, almost…protectively. There appeared to be no sweat breaking the man's skin, as if what he was doing caused him no more effort than breathing, and by the time the two were inches apart, there was a mass of frozen ice. It slowed and finally came to a stop, remaining completely still in front of his brother. As the Hulk ran up and smashed right into the ice, causing it to shatter, Thor almost shook his head at the ease of it all. What had taken them hours and had failed had taken Loki seconds. Such was the fault of a team that was almost entirely physical force against a foe that was strong against such things. They _needed_ someone like Loki, who had magic at his disposal.

Loki turned and looked right at him. "Honestly, Thor. It was fun at first, seeing your expression when your lightning was nothing more than a light annoyance, but after a few hours it grew so boring."

Though he was sure he wasn't meant to, Thor saw something in those eyes that made hope rise in his chest, despite the man's words. For as much as Loki proclaimed that he hated Thor, wanted him dead, he had come to save him, and by extension, the Avengers. He was not as cold as he appeared. The thought sent warmth through Thor and his adrenaline surged through him as he got to his feet and rushed his brother. He had no idea _what_ he was planning on doing, just that he _had_ to get to him.

Nimble feet dodged him, as if he had expected the rush, but Thor dropped Mjolnir. It caught Loki by surprise and he paused enough that Thor could get his hands on the body he sought. With the adrenaline still going, his emotions flooding him with hope, he did the first thing that came to his mind: he brought their lips together fiercely, one hand gripping the back of his brother's neck tightly, the other hand buried in the leather armor he knew so well.

Distantly he registered gasps, but he didn't care that he had an audience of Avengers and innocent people watching. Those lips tasted sweet and pure, and Loki's shocked gasp allowed him entry into his mouth. He wanted more, was almost desperate for it, now that he had tasted it. It was the finest wine he'd ever had. Already he wanted more, never wanted to live without that taste.

Pain ripped through his chest as Loki used his magic to throw him back. The Hulk, surprisingly, was the one that caught him before his head made an intimate meeting with concrete and saved him from a concussion. His blue eyes were intense as they met green, and he could actually see the panic in that gaze, the shocked…fright? Did he scare Loki? Was that possible? Within moments, the man had disappeared.

Tony shaking his arm broke his attention at staring at the place Loki had been just seconds before. "Okay, let's go!"

"What?"

"Let's _go_! _Now_! SHIELD will handle the cleanup, we need to get out of here!"

Though he didn't understand the urgency, he did as his friends bade. No one attempted flight and instead piled into a car two streets away that was relatively drivable, rushing back to Stark tower. Only when they were firmly inside did he ask again, "Why did we have to run?"

"Avoiding the press." Tony tiredly clicked a device and a screen appeared showing a woman's face. She was speaking, as if directly at someone and suddenly there was an image of himself kissing Loki and rather than feel ashamed or upset, Thor felt a surge of satisfaction. In that image, he could see that Loki had _responded_ to him. What he had been unable to register during the act, he could see now. Those slim, delicate fingers had grabbed onto one of his biceps and the other into his armor. He could also see the realization of what he was doing hitting Loki and his reaction, the spell that had thrown him back into the Hulk.

"You want to tell us something, Thor?" Tony asked seriously. "I mean, it's not every day that we find you going from trying to kill him, to _making out_ with your _brother_ on camera. I saw that hand sliding down to grip his ass."

Thor shifted, a bit uncomfortably now. "I…don't know what possessed me there, but…it felt right. I just knew when Loki saved us that I had to get to him. He is not as unreachable as I thought. There's still my brother in that body. When I kissed Loki, it felt as if I'd been waiting to do it forever, but never realized it before. I…love Loki."

He watched as his friends exchanged glances. Thor had made sure to tell them before about Loki, his heritage and their past that had caused such acts of violence. Despite that, he had always referred to Loki as his brother and prince of Asgard. Even in Asgard, relationships between siblings were not approved of, blood related or not, and he dared not presume to think that that was any different on Midgard. He only hoped that his friendship with the Avengers would be enough that they wouldn't banish him with disgust.

"Well, that complicates things," Bruce said as he exited the elevator while tugging on a pair of pants. Clearly the Hulk had disappeared after they'd left.

"More than you know," he said grimly, "because I have a favor to ask. I need to speak with Loki and I will need your help for that. I fear he will run from me."

To their credit, there wasn't an outpouring of protest. Instead, there was a minute of silence and finally Tony spoke next, his words cautious, "Supposing we help, how do you plan on getting him to stay put? He seems to have a trick where he, you know, disappears."

Thor retreated to his room only to return with a pair of manacles. "With these. They will bind Loki's magic, making him unable to teleport. I don't wish to harm him, just speak with him. Please."

"Where did you get those?"

"I've had them since Loki escaped from Asgard. They were meant to contain him so that he could be returned."

He looked at each in turn and there seemed to be a silent conversation. Bruce smiled and he at least knew that he had one person that would help. It seemed almost like a domino then, and finally Tony threw up his hands as the last holdout. "This is going to be a shit storm now that it's pretty much viral that you were making out with Loki, but no point in not continuing, I guess. You're lucky I like you, pal, because I'm certainly not doing this for _him_. What's the plan?"

"I'm not entirely sure. We have to draw Loki out because we'll never find him any other way. I fear that Loki is scared by what happened, but even if he doesn't feel the same as I do, I have to talk to him and explain. If not, his mind will likely find ways of explaining what I've done—"

"And he's going to believe you did it to fuck with him," Tony finished grimly. "Man needs _therapy_, if you ask me."

"This would be a lot easier if we had a pattern to go by," Steve said with a frown, flexing his arm that was once broken and had now healed.

Tony frowned a bit and gestured at them to follow. Thor was right on the man's heels as they headed down into the laboratory. "Jarvis," the genius was saying, "pull up all the battle footage on earth that has Loki in it."

"Yes, sir."

Screens of all sizes popped up around them. As Thor looked from one to another, battles in fields and battles in cities, Tony was already busy. "Cross-reference with all the Avengers battles since Loki attempted his invasion. Find a pattern."

Screens flickered to life and disappeared and Tony moved his fingers through the air like he was playing an instrument before he paused. "I see it."

"What is it?" Natasha prompted, keeping an eye on Clint to make sure he was steady on his feet.

"Loki doesn't come to any battles that Thor isn't involved in. That's the key: Thor. He never causes trouble if Thor isn't there. Remember back in June when Thor had to go back to Asgard? We didn't see hide nor hair of Loki in any battle for the two month he was gone, then as soon as he's back, so is Loki."

"How does this help?" Thor asked, dragging his eyes away from the screens.

"It means we can use _you_ to get to him. What if he thinks you're missing? You don't show up at any battles or on any cameras for a month or two."

"He would assume I've gone back to Asgard."

"Yeah, but he'd go check and when you're not there…"

"Maybe he'd sneak into here," Clint finished. "We've got him then."

"That might take awhile, if at all," Steve warned. "We don't even know if Loki is going to stay here on Earth after that."

"Then we speed it along by spreading rumors that Thor's gone missing," Tony argued, clearly not willing to lose his plan just yet. "He manipulated us, let's manipulate him back. It's only _fair_."

Steve looked at him seriously and while Thor didn't like the idea one bit, he grudgingly nodded his head. "I don't think there's any other way."

"Here's hoping this doesn't backfire," Bruce said quietly.

-0-

He kept himself hidden in a doorway of a room in the tower and waited. He felt surprisingly calm about this and he knew if they waited long enough that Loki would come. It made him uncomfortable as the rumors they had caused would manipulate Loki into coming to the tower for him, but he knew, particularly after their last encounter, that his brother would just avoid him if he didn't. He had seen the panic in those green eyes, the way that his own reaction had added fuel to the fire.

It took a month before Loki actually began to investigate his 'disappearance' and it was thanks to Heimdall, who managed to catch a glimpse of him as he left Asgard, that he was returning to Midgard. They'd been waiting for three hours, but Loki cautiously appeared on the balcony that he'd once been on during his thwarted attempt to invade Midgard. There was suspicion in his eyes as he looked through the glass into the empty room and Thor waited with baited breath as he stood there for half an hour, unmoving as he simply watched for any sign of movement.

Finally, as if assured that there was no one there, Loki destroyed the lock to gain entry. Tony had complained that more of his stuff would be broken, but if it had been left unlocked, his brother would _know_ it was a trap. His footsteps were light, barely heard, on the floor. He had left his helmet behind, but still wore the green and gold leather armor that was, he could now admit to himself, cut very well to show off his brother's figure. Limber fingers twitched and he peered around the bar, but no one was crouched there.

Dropping from the ceiling, Clint landed right behind Loki. The presence was immediately noted and Loki whirled, but Natasha took advantage of it in the split second it happened and slid out from beneath the sofa to grab one wrist and clap the manacle on one hand. He could see in an instant that Loki knew what the manacles did and where they had gotten them from. A look of rage crossed his brother's face and he snapped his chin up, looking for Thor and giving that split second time to allow the two SHIELD agents to close the second manacle over his wrist.

Thor stepped into view, followed by Bruce, Steve, and Tony. He braced himself for the words of invective and was not disappointed. "To be manipulated by you, Thor… I must truly be mad!"

"I can't express my apologies enough for the small deception, but it was necessary. You would never meet with me if I didn't."

"Small deception?! I was told you were dead!"

Dead? The original rumor had been missing_. _He resisted the urge to wince and approached, Clint and Natasha still holding Loki's arms tightly to keep him from moving. His fingers, of their own accord, stroked gently along those high cheekbones and Loki swung his head to pull back from it. "Loki—"

"So you've caught me. Shall it be the mortals who execute me or the Allfather?"

"No one is going to execute you!" Loki scoffed, looking pointedly at the Avengers, and Thor asked, "Please, I would like to be alone with my brother."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Bruce said in concern.

It was Tony that came to his aid. "No, I say let them. If Thor wants to beat it out of him, I have no problem with that."

"I do!" Steve spat, but Tony merely grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room.

Thor waited until they were alone before he turned back to the sullen man in front of him. His hands were squirming in the manacles. When they wouldn't release him, it only seemed to incense the man further. Green eyes flared with anger. "What is my fate, Thor? To be used for your gratification?"

Rage flooded his system, flushing it with adrenaline. "You enjoyed it!"

"You do not deny it!"

His temper got the better of him and Thor shoved Loki hard against the wall. His anger faded as quickly as it had risen and he sighed, gently gripping the back of his neck in apology. "Please, Loki. I just want you to listen to me."

"…I know everything you would say," Loki muttered.

Their eyes wouldn't meet at that and he murmured, "Maybe so. In fact, it is most likely you do…but I still want to say it anyway: I love you, Loki. I failed to see what I felt until that day, but now that I know that I long to hold you, I cannot go back." Though he knew it would only cause his brother to lash out, he added, "And you returned my affection."

He was prepared for it and was not surprised when Loki bared his teeth at him, hissing like a cat, "What of your precious mortal woman? What was her name?"

"Don't bring Jane into this," he said, but with no heat. "It's not about her, it's about us."

"There is no 'us', Thor!"

"I want there to be."

For a moment, Loki seemed at a loss for words. He stared, opening his mouth and closing it again. It proved too much for Thor's self-control and he leaned in to capture a blisteringly passionate kiss. When he felt himself shoved back, Thor thought it would be a repeat of yesterday afternoon, but instead, he was shoved onto the nearby sofa. He watched as slim brother crawled over top him, straddling his lap, and returning the kiss, passion for passion.

"Loki," he moaned, gripping that rear fiercely. He ground his hips up as he felt arousal burning through him. "Loki, I love you…"

"If you can't see how I feel, then I refuse to tell you," Loki hissed, biting his lip lightly. There was an answering arousal between his legs and what they were doing was partially angry and resentful, but it felt good beyond belief.

The words told him all he needed to know, though. There was affection in those hands, the look in his eyes, and Thor knew, right then, that he'd abandon even Midgard, even Asgard, if Loki asked him to. As clothing was thrown to the side, lips locked together, he realized what he'd been missing, why their battles had upset him so. If he was being manipulated, so be it. He couldn't live without Loki anymore, knowing what he did then.

As he sunk down into love, as he felt Loki arch above him and carry him into bliss, he acknowledged his brother had won.


End file.
